Disclaimer: I don't own Iria (though I wouldn't mind it….) and I'm not making any money off this. (If I was, do you think you'd see this disclaimer?) The only thing I own here is this story and Shiv. She's mine, do you hear me? Mine! *laughs nervously* Okay…on with the show…..
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence
Ghosts of the Past
Part 4: Confessions
"Oh my God!"
"Is she…is she….."
"No! She can't be…."
"Lay her down…gently…"
"What happened?", Fujikuro demanded, fixing Akira with a steely gaze.
"She got shot. I found her like this, only she was conscious. She called somebody named Daine to send Ship and creeper to you, then passed out." Akira sighed. "This isn't right….What were they thinking…."
Suddenly, there was shouting and the sound of two engines revved to the maximum. Ship and the creeper came soaring over the barricade and landed neatly beside the small group. The shields lowered on both vehicles, and Akira picked Shiv back up.
"I'll ride in Ship with her," he said. "You two take the creeper." The others nodded.
After lowering Shiv gently into the passenger seat, Akira leapt into the driver's side. The shields popped up after him. Slowly, Shiv stirred. "Daine….," she whispered, voice hoarse. "Iria's….hurry….."
The vehicle needed no further urging. Ship sped off into the dark, the creeper racing behind. Akira smiled, certain of the shouting that had accompanied the other ship's sudden start. Shiv turned her head slightly to face him. "What's your story?", she demanded, coughing.
"Shhhh," Akira whispered. "You should rest."
"Resting…be….damned," she forced out. "Something's up with you……I know…I…just…..know…" She coughed again, doubling over with the spasms. Akira, at first tentatively, then more certainly, reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder. She said nothing, just looked as far back over her shoulder as she could and smiled.
The door opened and Akira walked inside, cradling a half-conscious Shiv close to him.
"SHIV?!?", Bob yelled. "Oh my God! And who the hell are you?!?"
"Calm down," Iria soothed. "It's okay. He's a friend."
"Easy…Bob…Don't…blow a…motherboard…," Shiv chuckled softly.
"Bob? What's up?", Kei hollered, walking down the hall. Reaching the living room, she gasped. "Who's the guy? And that's…..That's the…"
"If the next two words out of your mouth are 'bloody lady', I'm gonna be forced to beat the shit out of you," Shiv growled.
Kei swallowed nervously and kept her mouth shut.
"Where should I take her?", Akira asked softly, looking as though he'd like to blend into the wall. He glanced down at Shiv tenderly.
"My room," Fujikuro said, not entirely missing the glance.
Akira tightened the blood pressure cuff on Shiv's right arm. He read the gauge carefully, then took it off and turned to Iria and Fujikuro. "She'll be okay," he said, visibly relaxing. "She needs to rest, but she'll be okay."
He turned back to Shiv, paused, then bent and kissed her forehead. As he did so, something fell out of his shirt. When he stood up, the other two in the room could see what it was. A hunter's pendant hung around his neck.
"I get it now," Fujikuro hissed, though tight teeth. "You're working for Remington. You came to kill her…and us." He pulled a blaster from a holster and aimed it at Akira's head. Suddenly, they heard a soft click from behind the other hunter.
"Fuji, Fuji, Fuji. You really have to learn to control your temper."
Fujikuro looked over Akira's shoulder at the barrel of the blaster aimed between his eyes. "Shiv?", he forced out.
She lay on the bed, propped up on one elbow, blaster in hand. "I always keep a blaster handy. Surely you know that by now, Fuji."
Fujikuro's grip on his blaster tightened.
"Don't even think about it," Shiv snarled. "You know I'm a better close-range shot that you are. I could have you down and out before you know it. I might not kill you, but I can come damn close. Would you let the boy at least explain himself? If we have to, you can kill him later. But not now, Fujikuro. Not now."
Akira looked back at her, smiled wanly, then turned back to Iria and Fujikuro. "I….I'm not working for Remington. But….I guess…you could say……He's working for me. Since no one on Myce would take Tedon Tippidai's contract, they called me in. I…I didn't really want to take it…but jobs haven't been comin' easy to me like they used to. I…I needed the money. I'm not proud of it, but I wasn't about to turn down a good job and starve. They….they figured that whoever wanted Iria alive would be there to see the offworld hunter come in. That's why they made such a big deal over Remington. We looked at who was there for Remington's arrival, looked at who they knew, who they'd talked to, who'd sent them money……it was easy from there…."
He closed his eyes and turned his head to the floor. "Like I said, I'm not proud of it. I…When Iria's name came up on the guest list for the gala…..The plan was to get you all outside, scare you into running a good ways from the building, then I'd…..I'd….Damn it! I wish…..I wish I'd never taken the damn job! I'd rather starve or get kicked out of my house or…..or…..or anything but stoop that God damn low!!"
His body quivered with rage long pent-up. Almost without meaning to, he dropped to the bed and sat there on the edge. Something glistened wet and innocent on his cheeks, and suddenly he seemed much younger. Shiv reached out to him and rested a hand on his arm. Something in her screamed out to the young man that saved her. *He isn't Jiko,* she thought, *and he never will be, but still….Something about him…*
"It's never easy, is it?", she whispered. "Knowing that….that all your targets have names…..faces….friends….family…It's the hardest thing in the world. Why else do you think there's an 75% drop-out rate after the first year a hunter gets instated? They can't take it. They don't want to know these people. And the harder thing is sometimes you do know them."
She forced herself to sit up, ignoring the wince that threatened to come to the surface. Putting her arm around his shoulders, she leaned him towards her, resting his head on her shoulder. Fujikuro stood there for a moment longer, then shoved the blaster back into its holster and stalked out. Iria started after him, paused for a moment in the doorway, then left, gently closing the door behind her.
"You really should come back inside. It's too cold out here."
"I've really got to find a better sulking place," Fujikuro snorted.
Iria walked over to him and leaned on the railing. "True, but I don't now where that'd be. This place is only so big. Why did you leave? And don't you go telling me it was to give the happy couple sometime alone."
Fujikuro sighed. "I don't like it when….people I know….that I care about…get hurt. It makes me see….It makes me realize….that none of us are immortal. Our time comes and then….I was so afraid for her. All I could see was her dying. I didn't want to think about it…but I did anyway. I…I kept thinking…if it hadn't been Shiv…how it would be if….if it had been Kei…or you."
He turned to face her. "I've lost enough people that I care about, Iria. I don't want to lose any more. I don't want to lose you."
"You will never lose me," she whispered, placing her hands firmly on his shoulders. "You will never, ever lose me."
"You can't promise me that," Fujikuro said softly, as though unwilling to acknowledge the logic in his words.
"Like hell I can't," Iria replied fiercely, and pressed her lips to his. They lingered there, and her hands drifted from his shoulders to wrap around his back. He held her close with one arm, and let the other arm's hand drift through her hair, entwining its fingers in fiery strands.
After a moment, the pair relaxed and parted, staring intently into the other's eyes. "Did you mean to do that?", Fujikuro asked.
"Did I?", Iria wondered breathlessly.
"Was it a mistake?"
"I don't think so."
"Impulsive?"
"Perhaps…"
"Too soon?"
"I guess that's it…"
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"I suppose we'd better…"
"Yeah, so they know you haven't jumped off the roof or anything…."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"Ladies first."
"Funny, I don't see any ladies."
"Don't smart mouth me, chippy."
"Since when am I a chippy?"
"Since…."
"Got you there, don't I?"
"You are hopeless."
"So I've been told."
"Let's go."
"Okay, but…"
"What?"
"Did you mean it?"
"What I said?"
"Yeah. Did you mean it?"
"Every word."
"Did you ever know anyone?", Akira whispered.
"Hm?" Shiv looked to him questioningly.
"Did you ever know anyone who was…your target?"
Shiv looked away. "No, I never did. But a friend of mine did. He got assigned a contract to kill an escaped prisoner. He didn't know until after he'd carried it out that it was his brother. He didn't take it very well."
"I'd imagine so." Akira leaned against her. "I hope you can forgive me."
"Doing anything else never crossed my mind."
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Shiv?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you again."
*******
LOL, Mara-chan. You finally get to see one of your fav parts posted. Happy now? (For those who don't know, Mara's got a thing for the Iria and Fujikuro roof scene. *grins*)
Well, neve fear, faithfull readers, one more chapter up after this as of today, more tomorrow (I think). (PS: I get ta go do lazer tag tomorrow and we have to pick code names! Think I should be Shiv...??)
Anyway, keep reading people and thanks for the feedback and support!
~Kat-chan~
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence
Ghosts of the Past
Part 4: Confessions
"Oh my God!"
"Is she…is she….."
"No! She can't be…."
"Lay her down…gently…"
"What happened?", Fujikuro demanded, fixing Akira with a steely gaze.
"She got shot. I found her like this, only she was conscious. She called somebody named Daine to send Ship and creeper to you, then passed out." Akira sighed. "This isn't right….What were they thinking…."
Suddenly, there was shouting and the sound of two engines revved to the maximum. Ship and the creeper came soaring over the barricade and landed neatly beside the small group. The shields lowered on both vehicles, and Akira picked Shiv back up.
"I'll ride in Ship with her," he said. "You two take the creeper." The others nodded.
After lowering Shiv gently into the passenger seat, Akira leapt into the driver's side. The shields popped up after him. Slowly, Shiv stirred. "Daine….," she whispered, voice hoarse. "Iria's….hurry….."
The vehicle needed no further urging. Ship sped off into the dark, the creeper racing behind. Akira smiled, certain of the shouting that had accompanied the other ship's sudden start. Shiv turned her head slightly to face him. "What's your story?", she demanded, coughing.
"Shhhh," Akira whispered. "You should rest."
"Resting…be….damned," she forced out. "Something's up with you……I know…I…just…..know…" She coughed again, doubling over with the spasms. Akira, at first tentatively, then more certainly, reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder. She said nothing, just looked as far back over her shoulder as she could and smiled.
The door opened and Akira walked inside, cradling a half-conscious Shiv close to him.
"SHIV?!?", Bob yelled. "Oh my God! And who the hell are you?!?"
"Calm down," Iria soothed. "It's okay. He's a friend."
"Easy…Bob…Don't…blow a…motherboard…," Shiv chuckled softly.
"Bob? What's up?", Kei hollered, walking down the hall. Reaching the living room, she gasped. "Who's the guy? And that's…..That's the…"
"If the next two words out of your mouth are 'bloody lady', I'm gonna be forced to beat the shit out of you," Shiv growled.
Kei swallowed nervously and kept her mouth shut.
"Where should I take her?", Akira asked softly, looking as though he'd like to blend into the wall. He glanced down at Shiv tenderly.
"My room," Fujikuro said, not entirely missing the glance.
Akira tightened the blood pressure cuff on Shiv's right arm. He read the gauge carefully, then took it off and turned to Iria and Fujikuro. "She'll be okay," he said, visibly relaxing. "She needs to rest, but she'll be okay."
He turned back to Shiv, paused, then bent and kissed her forehead. As he did so, something fell out of his shirt. When he stood up, the other two in the room could see what it was. A hunter's pendant hung around his neck.
"I get it now," Fujikuro hissed, though tight teeth. "You're working for Remington. You came to kill her…and us." He pulled a blaster from a holster and aimed it at Akira's head. Suddenly, they heard a soft click from behind the other hunter.
"Fuji, Fuji, Fuji. You really have to learn to control your temper."
Fujikuro looked over Akira's shoulder at the barrel of the blaster aimed between his eyes. "Shiv?", he forced out.
She lay on the bed, propped up on one elbow, blaster in hand. "I always keep a blaster handy. Surely you know that by now, Fuji."
Fujikuro's grip on his blaster tightened.
"Don't even think about it," Shiv snarled. "You know I'm a better close-range shot that you are. I could have you down and out before you know it. I might not kill you, but I can come damn close. Would you let the boy at least explain himself? If we have to, you can kill him later. But not now, Fujikuro. Not now."
Akira looked back at her, smiled wanly, then turned back to Iria and Fujikuro. "I….I'm not working for Remington. But….I guess…you could say……He's working for me. Since no one on Myce would take Tedon Tippidai's contract, they called me in. I…I didn't really want to take it…but jobs haven't been comin' easy to me like they used to. I…I needed the money. I'm not proud of it, but I wasn't about to turn down a good job and starve. They….they figured that whoever wanted Iria alive would be there to see the offworld hunter come in. That's why they made such a big deal over Remington. We looked at who was there for Remington's arrival, looked at who they knew, who they'd talked to, who'd sent them money……it was easy from there…."
He closed his eyes and turned his head to the floor. "Like I said, I'm not proud of it. I…When Iria's name came up on the guest list for the gala…..The plan was to get you all outside, scare you into running a good ways from the building, then I'd…..I'd….Damn it! I wish…..I wish I'd never taken the damn job! I'd rather starve or get kicked out of my house or…..or…..or anything but stoop that God damn low!!"
His body quivered with rage long pent-up. Almost without meaning to, he dropped to the bed and sat there on the edge. Something glistened wet and innocent on his cheeks, and suddenly he seemed much younger. Shiv reached out to him and rested a hand on his arm. Something in her screamed out to the young man that saved her. *He isn't Jiko,* she thought, *and he never will be, but still….Something about him…*
"It's never easy, is it?", she whispered. "Knowing that….that all your targets have names…..faces….friends….family…It's the hardest thing in the world. Why else do you think there's an 75% drop-out rate after the first year a hunter gets instated? They can't take it. They don't want to know these people. And the harder thing is sometimes you do know them."
She forced herself to sit up, ignoring the wince that threatened to come to the surface. Putting her arm around his shoulders, she leaned him towards her, resting his head on her shoulder. Fujikuro stood there for a moment longer, then shoved the blaster back into its holster and stalked out. Iria started after him, paused for a moment in the doorway, then left, gently closing the door behind her.
"You really should come back inside. It's too cold out here."
"I've really got to find a better sulking place," Fujikuro snorted.
Iria walked over to him and leaned on the railing. "True, but I don't now where that'd be. This place is only so big. Why did you leave? And don't you go telling me it was to give the happy couple sometime alone."
Fujikuro sighed. "I don't like it when….people I know….that I care about…get hurt. It makes me see….It makes me realize….that none of us are immortal. Our time comes and then….I was so afraid for her. All I could see was her dying. I didn't want to think about it…but I did anyway. I…I kept thinking…if it hadn't been Shiv…how it would be if….if it had been Kei…or you."
He turned to face her. "I've lost enough people that I care about, Iria. I don't want to lose any more. I don't want to lose you."
"You will never lose me," she whispered, placing her hands firmly on his shoulders. "You will never, ever lose me."
"You can't promise me that," Fujikuro said softly, as though unwilling to acknowledge the logic in his words.
"Like hell I can't," Iria replied fiercely, and pressed her lips to his. They lingered there, and her hands drifted from his shoulders to wrap around his back. He held her close with one arm, and let the other arm's hand drift through her hair, entwining its fingers in fiery strands.
After a moment, the pair relaxed and parted, staring intently into the other's eyes. "Did you mean to do that?", Fujikuro asked.
"Did I?", Iria wondered breathlessly.
"Was it a mistake?"
"I don't think so."
"Impulsive?"
"Perhaps…"
"Too soon?"
"I guess that's it…"
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"I suppose we'd better…"
"Yeah, so they know you haven't jumped off the roof or anything…."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"Ladies first."
"Funny, I don't see any ladies."
"Don't smart mouth me, chippy."
"Since when am I a chippy?"
"Since…."
"Got you there, don't I?"
"You are hopeless."
"So I've been told."
"Let's go."
"Okay, but…"
"What?"
"Did you mean it?"
"What I said?"
"Yeah. Did you mean it?"
"Every word."
"Did you ever know anyone?", Akira whispered.
"Hm?" Shiv looked to him questioningly.
"Did you ever know anyone who was…your target?"
Shiv looked away. "No, I never did. But a friend of mine did. He got assigned a contract to kill an escaped prisoner. He didn't know until after he'd carried it out that it was his brother. He didn't take it very well."
"I'd imagine so." Akira leaned against her. "I hope you can forgive me."
"Doing anything else never crossed my mind."
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Shiv?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you again."
*******
LOL, Mara-chan. You finally get to see one of your fav parts posted. Happy now? (For those who don't know, Mara's got a thing for the Iria and Fujikuro roof scene. *grins*)
Well, neve fear, faithfull readers, one more chapter up after this as of today, more tomorrow (I think). (PS: I get ta go do lazer tag tomorrow and we have to pick code names! Think I should be Shiv...??)
Anyway, keep reading people and thanks for the feedback and support!
~Kat-chan~